Aeolothrips kuwanaii Distinguishing features Both sexes fully winged. Body and legs uniformly brown; female with antennal segment III yellow with apical margin slightly shaded, segments II and IV brown; fore wings with posterior margin dark except for base and apex, extending forward almost to first longitudinal vein. Antennae 9-segmented, segment III with Female Antenna Male Male antenna short linear sensorium, IV with sensorium more than 0.5 as long as segment and curved at apex, V–IX forming a single unit with V longer than VI–IX. Head with no long setae; pronotal posteromarginal setae stouter than pronotal discal setae. Fore tarsus apically with stout recurved ventral hamus. Metanotal sculpture forming arcuate reticulation around anterior margin. Marginal setae on sternites arising at or close to margin; sternite Pronotum VII with two pairs of accessory setae arising sub-marginally. Head Male with paired tubercles on tergites IV–V; tergite IX with stout, blunt and curved seta anterolateral to bifurcate claspers. Related species Male abdominal tergites IV–V A. kuwanaii is a member of a species-complex in which the fore wing bears a longitudinal dark area along the posterior margin, with or without a transverse dark band as well. Most of the Mesonotum & metanotumMale tergites species in this group are from North America, and the separation of A. crucifer and A. hartleyi from A. kuwanaii remains unsatisfactory. These three are identical in both sexes in their Fore wing detailed structure, apart from the incomplete sub-basal transverse dark band on the fore wings of A. kuwanaii, and the absence of a pair of stout setae lateral to the clasper on tergite IX of male A. hartleyi. Moreover, the records given by Bailey (1957) indicate that the two species have been collected together on several occasions. The females of A. hesperus are also similar to those of A. kuwanaii, but the males have very reduced, non-bifurcate, claspers. About 105 species are placed currently in the genus Aeolothrips. Most of these are from the Palaearctic Region (including the Mediterranean, Iran and northern India, but with five species extending through eastern Africa to South Africa), with about 30 species from the Nearctic (mainly western USA). Only one species of this genus is known from the Neotropics, A. fasciatipennis described from Chile, but Mound & Marullo (1996) indicate this is probably the same as A. fasciatus. Biological data Collected from the flowers of a wide range of plants, with no recorded specificity, but probably a facultative predator with a mixed diet of pollen and the larvae of other thrips. Distribution data California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia. Family name AEOLOTHRIPIDAE Species name Aeolothrips kuwanaii Moulton Original name and synonyms Aeolothrips kuwanaii Moulton, 1907: 407 Aeolothrips robustus Moulton, 1907: 407 Aeolothrips longiceps Crawford DL, 1909: 101 References Bailey SF (1957) The thrips of California Part I: Suborder Terebrantia. Bulletin of California Insect Survey 4: 143–220. Mound LA & Marullo R (1996) The Thrips of Central and South America: An Introduction. Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–488.